Eddard Cecil
= = '''His Grace Eddard Cecil, 11th Duke of Sammodra, Earl of Clann, Esteemed Viceroy of Mordusia, and Lord Protector of the Crown '''is a distinguished politician, the head of House Cecil, and the eldest and rightful descendant of House Vickenson. Lord Cecil resurrected the Royal Crown Alliance after many years of inactivity, and led the successful effort to restore the Holy Mordusian Empire under His Imperial Majesty Phillip I, of House Orange-Villayn. For their valiant and repeated dedication and sacrifices to the cause of Mordusia and the monarchy, House Cecil was generously awarded with the hereditary honorary title of Lord Protector of the Crown of Mordus. Lord Cecil divides his time ably between the duties of State, the Duchy of Sammodra and its subordinate lands, and his noble household. Childhood Eddard Cecil was born on the third of August, 3122, to the 10th Duke and Duchess of Sammodra, His Grace Hector Godfrid Cecil and Her Grace Gwendolyn Mary Cecil. Born and raised at Cecil Hall in Clann, Sammodra, the young Lord Cecil grew up an only child, a rare exception to the usual ways of the House, since Lady Gwendolyn sufferred severe complications as a result of her son's birth. Lady Gwendolyn died soon after, and Lord Hector, indisposed with grief and having utterly withdrawn from public life, sent young Lord Eddard to Cormorant, Adubura, to spend his remaining childhood as a ward of House Jacobson, the Dukes of Adubura and Cormorant. Growing up with the Jacobsons, Lord Eddard gained a deep interest and appreciation for politics and governance, seeing first-hand the all-consuming struggles of Lord Jacobson as he led his Royal Fascist Party and fought to defend the monarchy. Public life prior to politics At age sixteen, Lord Eddard parted with House Jacobson and entered university, where he studied History and Theology for three years. Upon turning nineteen, he left university and pursued his desire of a military career, entering the Mordusian Army as a lieutenant. He displayed extraordinary aptitude and a rare martial gift, and quickly rose in rank, gaining the respect of fellow officers and soldiers along the way. Lord Eddard's army career, however, rather abruptly came to an end when, in 3155, his father, Lord Hector, died from the flu, thus making Lord Eddard the 11th Duke of Sammodra, as well as Earl of Clann. To fulfill his responsibilities as head of his house and lord of his numerous great estates, Lord Eddard retired from the army at the rank of colonel and took up his ancestral seat at Cecil Hall, from where he presided over the Duchy of Sammodra and his house's other holdings. It might be of interest to followers of the hereditary aristocracy of Mordusia that House Cecil of Clann, although an old and well-established family with very deep roots in Sammodra, was not a part of the titled aristocracy until their marriage into House Schwartz, the old Earls of Clann, in 2852. When Lord Holdric Schwartz, the 5th Earl of Clann, died in 2865, the titles and lands of House Schwartz passed on, since he had no sons, to his eldest grandson, Lord Preston Schwartz Cecil, thus endowing House Cecil with a countship and the old seat of the Schwartzes in Clann, which Lord Preston restructured and expanded, and renamed to Cecil Hall. In a strikingly similar manner, Lord Preston's eldest son and heir, Lord Harold Cecil, married the eldest daughter of Lord Henry James Vickenson, 4th Duke of Sammodra, Lady Margaret Grace Vickenson in 2895, and, when Lord Henry died with no sons, the lands and titles of the Great House Vickenson passed on to House Cecil. By this unlikely yet highly fateful string of events, House Cecil became, by the start of the 30th century, one of the wealthiest and most powerful Noble Houses of the Realm, perhaps second only to the House of Jacobson. Political Life In 3162, Lord Eddard answered Mordusians' cries for help fighting back against the unprecedented and wild reforms of the Mordusian Union of Liberty and their brutal assault on the monarchy and traditional Mordusian culture. He called together a summit of conservative military, religious, and political leaders from all around Mordusia at Cecil Hall in Clann, and together with many of the original RCA ministers' descendants and friends, resurrected the Royal Crown Alliance as an official political body. The Alliance first stood for election in 3163, immediately winning a solid third of the vote, and very soon succeeded in forcing the MUL to dissolve and resign in 3169. After a unanimous parliamentary victory, Lord Eddard led the RCA in restoring the Mordusian monarchy under House Villayn-Orange, and himself was elected the newly restored monarchy's first Imperial Viceroy. In recognition of the 11th Duke's contributions, Emperor Phillip I of Mordusia & II of Luthori bestowed upon House Cecil of Clann the hereditary title of Lord Protectors of the Crown. Following the restoration, Lord Eddard presided over almost thirty years of peace, stability, and prosperity. He oversaw Lord Aarden's financial reforms that resulted in healthier budgets and the steady closing of Mordusia's sovereign debt, accrued over years of liberal profligacy and neglect. He assisted Quentin Leppert's efforts to revive the national parks and forests system and restore the nation's ecological wellbeing. But most notably, Lord Eddard personally led the crusade to restore Mordusia's moral integrity and rich traditions, restoring the Mordusian Episcopal Church as the state religion, and passing a multitude of bills that brought back traditional Mordusian and Christian values into the lawbooks. Lord Eddard's reign as Viceroy has come down as a golden age in the nation's history, and for thirty years under his leadership the RCA saw no opposition in elections, although his administration made sure to avoid any sort of political supression. Death, End of and Era To sincere grief from his House, the Alliance, and all over the country, Eddard Cecil passed away quietly on November 10, 3195, at the age of 73, while spending the weekend with his family at Cecil Hall. His death marked the end of the Restoration, and sparked a reshuffle at the top of the Alliance and the state, with Lord Eden standing for the Viceroyship, and Lord Eddard's son, Charles Alfred Cecil, the 12th Duke of Sammodra, becoming Lord-Chancellor.